White roses will have a hidden meaning at Grammy Awards this weekend

Awards season has typically been a time reserved for fawning over Hollywood glamour and artistry. But this year’s biggest awards shows, so far, have also become platforms for the boldest names in the biz to advocate for an end to sexual harassment and gender inequality.

The 60th annual Grammy Awards, to be held on Jan. 28, will be no exception: Attendees are expected to wear white roses to present a unified front against sexual misconduct and in support of the #MeToo and #TimesUp movements. This year at the Grammys, some executives, artists, and more have chosen to show their solidarity with #TimesUp by wearing white roses and #TimesUp pins on the carpet and during the show,” the #TimesUp organization said in a statement. The push to wear the symbolic accessory at the Grammys is being led by a newly formed group called Voices in Entertainment. “We choose the white rose because historically it stands for hope, peace, sympathy, and resistance,” Voices in Entertainment wrote in a letter sent to planned attendees of the ceremony.

According to Billboard, Halsey, Kelly Clarkson, Cyndi Lauper, and other artists have already committed to wearing a white rose. The demonstration follows the “black out” during the Golden Globes, in which most show attendees wore black outfits and #TimesUp pins in an expression of their support. While some wondered whether a show of sartorial solidarity could be considered “slacktivism,” the display did succeed in largely focusing preshow discussion to #TimesUp legal defense fund initiatives.

White roses represent “a symbol for true love, but also unity, virtue, and the pureness of a new love,” notes an article outlining the symbolism behind different colored roses in Reader’s Digest.

The color white has a storied history in the realm of women’s empowerment. Throughout the 2016 U.S. presidential election, nominee Hillary Clinton wore white pantsuits, which many took as a nod to the suffragettes of the past. Clinton also wore white to Trump’s inauguration, and female voters wore white to the polls in November 2016 as an organized nod to the suffragettes.

It seems Hollywood has finally removed its rose-colored glasses, trading them in for a shade that depicts the world as it really is.